A large number of automatic weather stations has been implemented in the frame of the BIOTA AFRICA project by the Namibian National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) and the Group "Biodiversity, Evolution and Ecology" (BEE) of the University of Hamburg. The website offers hourly updates of data and graphs of a large number of weather parameters.

It is a main aim of BIOTA AFRICA to make data which are obtained and analysed by the different disciplines available to other subprojects as well as to other researchers, organisations, and institutions world wide that have a bona fide interest in the information. The accessibility of data is an important precondition for fruitful co-operation and for the effective use of data processed by BIOTA AFRICA.
Agreements (Data sharing protocol)

Metadata

Metadata
BIOTA AFRICA

The BIOTA AFRICA project produced a wide range of data which are of valuable beyond the direct goals of the project and for scientists and stakeholders outside the project team. The metadata information has therefore been prepared to allow identification of available data and to make access to these data easy. The data pool consists of many datasets. A dataset (in terms of 'a set of data records') can be defined as a data collection that is assigned to one discipline and/or one research problem. We want to give an overview of the datasets, their status, format and availability. This is the purpose of metadata as 'data about data'.

Processed weather data of the BIOTA Southern Africa observatory weather stations are available (open access). The presently available stations, time periods, values and time resolutions you'll find on the next page.

The proper raw data data of each weather station can be downloaded from the BIOTA AFRICA website by accessing the "Information sheet" of each single observatory (please use interactive map) and then visit the "Data" column at the very left hand side of the screen.

Geodata service
BIOTA East Africa
The BIOTA East Africa geodata service provides a collection of geo-spatial datasets and ready-to-use-maps at different scale levels covering the BIOTA East Africa investigation areas. While the geo-spatial datasets range from thematic GIS layers to topographic maps and satellite imagery, a variety of edited ready-to-use-maps is available in jpg and eps format for direct usage in presentations etc. Furthermore a selection of WebGIS applications built on SVG technology serve the purpose of a browsing, viewing and presentation tool.
Details

Soil science

Soil science
BIOTA Southern Africa

The available web database provides soil inventory data for many BIOTA Southern Africa observatories. For each observatory Box-Whisker Plots for selected soil properties derived from 20-25 soil profiles gives an overview about the parametric pedodiversity on the observatory. Each profile is documented with profile and site photos as well as selected lab analyses and classification by WRB (1998). Results of classification are summarized in soil distribution map for each observatory.
The link below leads you to an overview of the BIOTA Southern AFRICA observatories and allows you then to select a specific observatory.

Kakamega Forest is a hotspot of bird diversity in Eastern Africa and has been assigned an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International. In Kakamega, almost 500 bird species have been recorded of which 10% are found nowhere else in Kenya.

A total of 72 dragonfly species, representing 42 % of Kenyas dragonfly fauna, has been recorded from Kakamega Forest. Twenty species are of national importance for Kenya, since they are only found at this site within the country.

In total, about 242 bee species are known from Kakamega Forest and the surrounding agricultural areas in Western Kenya.Before the BIOTA- investigations, only 24 bee species were known for the area. Thus, most of the species are new records for the area.

The following list reflects the current state of research into Kakamega's Lepidoptera. Well known are butterflies with 487 species (this is more than a half of all butterfly species occurring in Kenya), although there is a lack of biological information for many species.

A total of 137 species of Tephritidae are recognized from Kakamega Forest and the surrounding area of which at least 25 (18%) are undescribed, or were so when this study began. These species represent 14 tribes and 59 genera from the four subfamilies of Tephritidae.

The presented species list is based on material collected in the Kakamega Forest between 1999 and 2009.The examined material was sampled using different sampling methods in all habitats of the Kakamega Forest.

In this section you will find information about Diversity of biological soil crust taxa along the BIOTA Southern Africa transect and Biomass values of biological soil crusts along the BIOTA Southern Africa transect.

Photo Guide to Plants of Southern Morocco
Morocco is a hotspot of plant diversity in the western Mediterranean region. This photoguide aims at presenting the diversity of vascular plant species from the High Atlas mountains down to the Sahara and supports their rapid identification.

West African Plants - A Photo Guide
This interactive photographic guide shall help you to identify higher plants from West African ecosystems. It contains images of ferns and seed plants taken in the field. You can browse through a taxonomic hierarchy and / or search according to selected characters you observe on your plant.

Photo Guide to Plants of Southern Africa
African plants have developed an overwhelming diversity of forms, functions, habitats and geographical distribution.This guide supports rapid identification of the plant species by presenting photographs of them in a phylogenetic order.This regional guide includes a good representation of all known species of the southern African region. Namibia and the western parts of South Africa are best represented.